The new drug is called Zohydro and it's under attack by some who think it's too dangerous to be on the market.

The drug is the purest form of hydrocodone, up to 10 times stronger than the closest thing on the market: Vicodin.

"You hear of celebrity overdoses all the time. You don't always hear about them in small town America. But it is a problem," said Bardstown Police Capt. Tom Roby.

Roby knows about the drug through his work on the Hardin County Narcotics Task Force.

He said prescription pill cases are overwhelming narcotics investigators and that prescription medication abuse is an epidemic in Kentucky.

Now comes a new painkiller, more potent than anything out there.

Roby has already spoken with local medical experts about Zohydro and what it could mean for the already massive problem he sees.

One of those voices against approval is pharmacist Alyson Schwartz, who owns Medica Pharmacy and Wellness Center.

"This drug really has two big flaws in it. One, it didn't meet the approval of the advisory committee," Schwartz said.

A committee voted 11-2 to reject Zohydro.

The FDA surprised many in the medical community when it pushed the painkiller through anyway.

It's not just the higher dose of hydrocodone that concerns some medical experts

Schwartz's other big worry is the drug isn't tamper resistant.

The FDA didn't mandate Zohydro follow the same abuse deterrents that other drugs do.

"If it's tamper resistant, you can't crush it up so you could snort it up your nose or liquefy it to inject into your veins to get an immediate high. So this one is not tamper proof so you can crush it, you can snort it. You can inject it and it will kill people if they do that," Schwartz said.

Supporters say the drug is essential for patients in extreme, around-the-clock pain.

The kind of pain that isn't helped by what's on the market now.

The company issued a statement that it's committed to promoting the appropriate prescribing and use of Zohydro.

"This one just makes us more worried that we're going to make an already huge problem worse," Schwartz said.

Doctors warn that the drug could potentially kill someone after taking just two pills.